11 Months Home...

I can honestly say that it has been an amazing 11 months having Grace home.

She is such a special girl.

We had our last post-placement visit a couple of weeks ago, and as our social worker was walking down our front steps to leave, she stopped in her tracks and said...

"You do know that you hit the jackpot, right?"

Grace is really the "jackpot."

She is so smart, friendly, social, talented, adorable, and loving.

We are so blessed.

AND...is there anything cuter than a little girl with "pig tails" in her hair? I don't think so.

If we asked Grace what her biggest accomplishment has been in the 11 months she has been in America, she would say...learning to "pump" on the swing. She thinks she is sooooo cool "pumping."

As we celebrated her 11 months home today, we were able to do some fun, spur of the moment things. Her friend Habtamu came for a little play date. "Habs" came home from Ethiopia a few months after Grace. She didn't stop talking about him all day. She told everyone that she got to see him and that he is "so cute." His mom and I decided that since arranged marriages happen in parts of Africa, we can keep that tradition alive here as well. They are really adorable together.

Tonight, we had another impromptu get together with Grace's BFF Kemily. We had a fun night out with moms and daughters...The girls loved going to a restaurant together and had so much fun hanging out, eating too many chips, and playing some silly games together.

I love little girls...they sat and colored for the longest time! How super easy and cute is that?

So, I guess it is just one more month until our we celebrate the 1st anniversary of our family being together...some call it "gotcha day." I'm not quite sure what we will call it. It's hard to say, because when I look at Grace and how well she has adjusted to our family, it seems like she's always been here. It doesn't really feel like a "gotcha" to me, more like a finally putting the last piece of the puzzle in the right place type of thing...